A Quick Chat with Alberto "Sting" Russo
Article Transcript
Alberto “Sting” Russo, a caricaturist from Lausanne, Switzerland, took time out to speak to ISCA members via Skype about his passion for caricature and his life as a working artist. Alberto is currently preparing for an exhibition in May that will take place in Switzerland, where he will exhibit his most recent caricature work and premiere his newest sketchbook.
Where did you get your nickname “Sting”?
The name “Sting” is my tag from my days
as a graffiti artist. I have found that with
caricature, we do the same things with the
face that one does with letters in graffiti.
You can push and play with the face like
one pushes the letters in graffiti. Even
though you stretch the image, it still makes
readable sense.
Was it during your time doing graffiti that you first realized you were an artist?
I have always loved drawing. When I was a
kid, both my parents worked, and a friend of
the family watched me. At his house, I was
given a pencil and paper to entertain myself.
So, between the ages of 3 and 7 years old,
all I did was draw. I felt as if I was in another
world. Even today when I draw, I go to another
world with no time and people. I find it
difficult to interact with others when I am in
this passionate world. Sometimes I am shy to
tell people I am an artist. I see myself more as
a man who experiments with things.
It seems you knew you loved art from a very young age. How did you first get involved specifically with caricature?
I found a mentor in caricature in an interesting
way. While in a figure drawing class in
graphic design school, I kept caricaturing
the body of the nude model, much like the
stretching of letters in my graffiti art. The
professor noticed my technique and said he
had a student 10 years prior that had done
the same thing in the same figure drawing
class. He gave me the person’s name. I
contacted him and we became friends. He is
a caricaturist in Switzerland named Valott.
He is a traditional artist and only uses pencil.
One of his books is Fan de Séries. We would
get together and talk about caricature and
art. Besides my friendship with Valott, I
studied books to learn about caricature. I
am basically a self-taught caricature artist.
The first book of caricature I owned was
Ces Grandes Gueules qui nous Gouvernent
by Mulatier, Ricord, and Morchoisne. Then
the books Grandes Gueules – Superstars and
Grandes Gueules – de France. In addition,
my friend Valott introduced me to the work
of Sebastian Krüger in 1991 with his book
Malzeit. Later in 2010, attending Krüger’s
painting workshop helped me decide, after
16 years without doing caricatures, to restart
painting faces.
Once you were inspired to paint caricatures, did this become your preferred medium for creating?
I have learned to love both traditional and digital
caricature work. I do not think one is better
than another, but I think it is important to go
in a direction that creates something new. You
need to find the medium, or mixture of media
that best expresses the subject. I get bored
quickly and after doing three to four pieces in a
certain style, I want to try something new and
find different ways to mix things.
What is your main goal when creating a caricature?
Mainly my goal is always to do the right
thing technically but with freedom. To do
only the technical aspect of caricature is simply mathematics. But the freedom you
have with the mathematics, the rendering,
and how the piece feels, is where the real
creativity lies. Rendering is the music in the
creative process. It is important to discover
the essence of the subject, to go inside them
and discover the subject you are drawing
and then push this out in the right representation.
It is difficult to explain the soul
of the subject and not just get a likeness.
Experimenting with different styles and
media helps me to express and capture the
subject’s soul.
What helps you to understand the essence of your subject so you can better capture their soul in your art?
I like to work with many photos of a person
when I am doing a caricature. Sometimes I
will have 20 photos on my desktop to get a
better feeling of the person. Choosing the
right reference is very important. There is
usually an expression that a person will have
70% of the time, and other expressions 30%
of the time. But, the caricature needs to capture the 70%.
I always start my sketch in pencil or pen.
Sometimes I can capture the person in two
drawings, and sometimes it can take 40 drawings
to find a solution. I enjoy the process of
the 40 drawings because it is a game to find
a solution. Some people seem to be able to
draw the same all the time, but I am not like
that. Some days are good, and some are not so
good. There are times that everything comes
easy and then the next day is different and I
can’t draw a nose.
In moments like this when you get discouraged with your art, which we all do sometimes, what keeps you going?
I realized a few years ago that caricature is my
life. I do not do caricature because I love it, I
do it because I have to do it. It is like eating. I
do not think I am the creator of the vision of
my creations. I know what I want to see, but it
is something greater than me, greater in life
that is pushing me and making it happen.
Do you have any advice for a person just beginning in the world of caricature?
I would advise you to study the works of
great caricaturists― study their books. You
also need to understand proportions. Most
importantly you need to practice. You need
to keep trying, and trying and trying.
Alberto hopes to make it to the 2014 ISCA Convention in Reno, where he looks forward to seeing the techniques used by artists from around the world.
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To learn more about Alberto “Sting” Russo or to purchase a copy of his books, please visit: www.stingarea.blogspot.com Alberto’s online sketchbook and link to book Famous Faces.
www.behance.net/Areadesign - art catalogue
www.facebook.com/AlbertoStingRusso - Alberto’s Facebook art page
His book The Art of Alberto Sting Russo Caricatures can be purchased on Amazon.
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